The search for edible gold and attempts to create it in the kitchen...

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Taste of Shanghai, Ashfield

The great thing about Ashfield is the plethora of great Chinese eating options. The problem with Ashfield is choosing where to eat. Luckily my choice was made easy on a revoltingly windy Sydney day. I just walked in the first door that I came across which offered refuge from the weather. Peter Pan, a friend I met in Hong Kong, looked around the restaurant and after seeing that we were the only Caucasian faces, announced that it passed the first test. This was a common good-eatery test we both used while living in Hong Kong.

First up was the beautiful mound of dumplings with a kick of chilli oil. These were great, with a delicate wonton wrapper and beautiful pork and chive flavours inside. The sesame seeds also added a great extra taste and texture.

There's melt-in-the-mouth, and then there is this pork. So good. Both of us loved the moreish pork and the hidden vegies underneath. The Princess Leia buns were also good, but I found them to be too sweet to be a perfect match for the pork. Peter didn't come to any such conclusion and enjoyed the combination of the two.

The wind howled, rain came down and we ordered more dumplings. The pan seared dumplings was my way of comparing Taste of Shanghai to the other dumpling big-hitters in Ashfield. When they came out I got my camera out, took my photos, continued a conversation and picked up my dumpling. Even after all that time, I still managed to burn my tongue (and lip) on the soup inside. When will I learn to take care with Shanghai soupy dumplings?

The construction of these dumplings was brilliant. Superb wrappers that were crunchy on the bottom and held the soup and juicy meat perfectly. Strangely, though, they almost seemed too perfect, without any of the extra crispy bits on the base from being left in the pan a second too long. Perhaps I prefer the New Shanghai equivalent, but I'll need to do more research before I come to a conclusion!